Pennsylvania State Police from Troop K, Media barracks, arrested a 57-year-old Wilmington man and charged him with a series of sexual assaults occurring in the 1980s.
According to a press release, Richard Anthony Bellingham was arrested on June 28 for alleged assaults in Chadds Ford, Concord and other townships between 1981 and 1988 when his alleged victims ranged in age from 4 to 15 years. The accused and four complainants were affiliated with the Church of Our Saviour in Concord Township at the time, police said.
Bellingham was formally charged with Indecent Assault and Corruption of Minors. He was arraigned and bail was set at $100,000. Bellingham was being held in Delaware County Prison when the press release was issued. A July 5 hearing was continued to a date still to be determined.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, state police interviewed, this year, four women who identified Bellingham as the assailant. Two of the women are sisters while a third is Bellingham’s former stepdaughter, police said.
The affidavit said assaults happened in two ways, nude spanking in homes and fondling in Bellingham’s car while traveling to the church.
The affidavit also said that, while being interviewed in Kennett Square, Bellingham told police that some of the assaults “happened with such frequency that it was routine and just a matter of fact.”
Anyone with information on Bellingham is asked to call Tpr. Jon Sunderlin at 484-840-1000.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
